The Nursery Class caters for 3-4 year olds and we offer funded places of 15 or 30 hours depending on eligibility (see below). We also offer chargeable child are outside of the funded hours entitlements and the Sunshine Club Holiday provision is open 50 weeks of the year.
Is my child eligible for 15 or 30 hours?
All children aged 3-4 are entitled to 15 funded hours in school term time from the start of the term that follows their 3rd birthday. Some children will also be able to access an additional 15 funded hours depending on the Government’s eligibility criteria being met by their parent(s). You can check your child’s entitlement to 15/30 funded hours via Childcare Choices at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk or the Childcare Calculator at:https://www.gov.uk/childcare-calculator On our application form we ask that parents indicate if they believe that their child will be eligible for 15 or 30 funded hours based on the criteria. Any place is offered subject to a confirmed HMRC code being provided to the school by the parent(s). Any hours outside of the funded entitlement will be chargeable through the Sunshine Club.
- Child born between 1 April – 31 August: September term intake
- Child born between 1 September – 31 December: January term intake
- Child born between 1 January – 31 March: April term intake
Nursery Admission Criteria 2023
If the number of applications exceeds the number of places available, children will be admitted to the nursery class in the following order:
1. Children who are ‘looked after’ or a child who was previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence/child arrangement, or special guardianship order. A looked after child is a child who is, at the time of making an application to a school, (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989). This includes children who have previously been in care/looked after outside of England but immediately after being looked after became subject to an adoption, residence/child arrangement, or special guardianship order. An adoption order is an order under section 12 of the Adoption Act 1976 or section 46 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. A ‘residence order’ is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. A child arrangement order is an order settling the arrangements to be made as to the person with whom the child is to live under section 14 of the Children and Families Act 2014. Section 14A of the Children Act 1989 defines a ‘special guardianship order’ as an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s special guardian (or special guardians).
2. Children In Need The Children Act 1989 defines a child ‘in need’ as: a) He/she is unlikely to achieve or maintain, or to have the opportunity of achieving or maintaining, a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services by the Local Authority under Part 3 of the Act. b) His/her health or development is likely to be significantly impaired, or further impaired, without the provision for him/her of such services. c) He/she is disabled. Supporting evidence (e.g. from a paediatrician or social worker) should be submitted with the application form. Parents applying under this criteria are strongly urged to contact the Head Teacher to ensure St Oswald’s is an appropriate setting in which the child’s needs can be met. A maximum of two part-time nursery places are retained until the end of the Autumn half term in order to accommodate emergency referrals of children “in need” as defined in the requirements of the Children Act, 1989.
3. Age The offer of a place will be prioritised according to date of birth. The earliest a child can begin in our nursery class is the start of the term following their 3rd birthday. Where applicants have the same date of birth, priority will be given to the earliest date of application.
- Children Living in Other Authorities Although there are no catchment areas for places, preference will be given to children whose parents live withinthe administrative area of Durham County Council. Only when all children living within the boundary ofthe administrative area of Durham County Council have been allocated a place, may a child living in a neighbouring area be offered a place.
Once all places have been allocated, further applications will be included on a waiting list and places will be allocated in accordance with the oversubscription criteria above.
Places in the Sunshine Club are allocated according to the following criteria:
- Children with a sibling who attends St Oswald’s CE Aided Primary and Nursery School (please indicate this on the application form).
- Children with a 15 hours term time place OR a 21 hours 50 weeks of the year place in the nursery class and/or the Sunshine Club who require five chargeable morning/afternoon sessions (equating to full-time daytime attendance 8.45am-3pm).
- Children with a 15 hours term time place OR a 21 hours 50 weeks of the year place in the nursery class and/or the Sunshine Club who require one or more chargeable morning/afternoon sessions.
- Children requiring any other childcare including those eligible for funded entitlement and those who have reached their third birthday but are not yet entitled to funded hours.
The offer of a place will be prioritised according to date of birth within each category. Where applicants have the same date of birth, priority will be given to the earliest date of application. Once all places have been allocated, further applications will be included on a waiting list and places will be allocated in accordance with the oversubscription criteria above.